It is widely known in the technical sector of photography, to use support stands for photographic equipment and, among these, tripods are particularly widespread and popular at both amateur and professional level. Generally speaking, these comprise a plurality of legs, generally telescopic, all hinged to a spider in which is slidably engaged a support column, to one end of which the photographic equipment is fastened.
One of the disadvantages inherent in the use of tripods is the relative inflexibility in positioning the photographic equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,843, in the name of the same Applicant, describes a tripod that offers a first solution to this disadvantage.
The tripod disclosed in that patent is equipped with a pair of opposed jaws, mounted on the spider on the side opposite the legs, which define a seat with an axis substantially perpendicular to that of the spider, along which the column can slide.
The latter can therefore be intentionally removed from the spider and positioned inside the pair of jaws, between which it is slid in a direction perpendicular to that permitted by engagement with the spider.
This tripod therefore offers increased flexibility of engagement with the column, which can slide vertically within the spider or, alternatively, horizontally within the pair of jaws. This facilitates, for example, remote positioning close to the ground, which is useful for shots of flowers, insects etc. in “macro” mode.
The tripod described in the prior art mentioned above does, however, have some drawbacks.
A first drawback comes from the fact that providing the jaws on the spider means increasing the overall dimensions of the tripod, which turns out to be unpopular with users seeking the greatest possible compactness in this type of equipment when the tripod is in the closed configuration, so as not to affect negatively its transportation and storage.
A second drawback arises from the fact that, in order to insert it into the pair of jaws, the column must be physically separated from the spider, with consequent risk that this and the photographic equipment mounted on it could fall.
It should be noted that, in the following description and claims, the term “tripod” is intended to refer to a stand equipped with a spider on which a plurality of legs are articulated, with no specific limitation on the actual number of legs, which may be three or a number other than three.